Burnt Gold
by TroublingAStar
Summary: Even as she said it, she wasn’t sure whether it was a wish or a promise. Katara & Zuko gen. Coda to Ember Island Players.


_Burnt_ **Gold**

Finally, it was time to go to bed. She was more than ready to end the day, to be honest. The disastrous outing to see the Ember Island Players had left everyone in a foul mood, and Katara was glad to leave the tense, somber atmosphere that pervaded the Fire Lord's house—oh, the irony—to escape to the sanctuary of her bedroom. As she passed one of the innumerable rooms, however, she noticed that a fire was still going. Everyone had gone to bed, as far as she knew, so she went into the room—after all, it wouldn't do to burn the house down. She made a mental note to ask in the morning after who left the fire burning as she approached the fireplace. The room, she noticed, was as elaborately decorated as all of the rooms in the house, appropriately fitting for a secondary home of the Fire Nation's ruler: a painting of Ozai hung over the mantle—she wrinkled her nose in disgust—staring her down impassively; the curtains which had been thrown back from the windows were made of some rich material in a glossy red; and assorted pieces of dark-wooded furniture dotted the room, including a massive, soft-looking couch that was angled away from the door. She bit her lip as she approached the fireplace, getting the disconcerting feeling that the Ozai painting was watching her.

That was ridiculous, she reminded herself. Paintings weren't sentient, after all. It was just a trick of the scant light.

"You're still up, too?"

She jumped, turning abruptly to find that someone was reclining on the huge couch, probably enjoying the heat of the fire.

"_Zuko!_" she cried, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "You scared me," she added in a more normal volume, lowering her hand.

"Sorry," he replied softly, resting his head on his drawn knees.

Katara hesitated by the fireplace. "I was going to put out the fire," she explained, "I thought the room was empty."

Zuko nodded. It seemed that he was waiting for her to leave, but instead of obliging, she felt the need to stay and talk. It was suddenly important to her that she prove herself capable of having a civil conversation with him that lasted for longer than than three seconds.

"Not tired?" she asked somewhat stiffly. It felt strange, she had to admit, to treat Zuko as a comrade and not as the evil person who had chased them around the world.

"Just thinking, I guess," he said, shrugging.

"Don't pull anything," she teased, proud of herself for managing to sound playful and not acidic.

He raised his eyebrow at her. "I'll try."

They lapsed into silence again. Katara had just made up her mind to leave and get to sleep already when he spoke up again.

"It might have been better if we'd left when Sokka wanted to. Tonight, I mean."

"Might?" she asked dryly. "You didn't actually enjoy the end of that play?"

"No," Zuko replied quickly, "but it was good for Aang to see what could happen."

Almost instantly, Katara's throat constricted. "That's not going to happen," she said softly, threateningly.

"Aang needs to see how serious this is," he said. "When Sozin's Comet comes, he needs to be prepared to face—well, _that_," he glanced up at Ozai's portrait. "The worst thing he's ever faced."

"He _will_ be ready."

"Emotionally, too," Zuko sighed. "Aang doesn't like violence—which is a good quality a lot of the time, don't get me wrong. But it won't make fighting my father any easier."

"Aang can do it," she insisted.

"I hope so," he said, so softly she almost couldn't hear.

She made a face, but moved to the couch and sat down, a foot away from him. She didn't want to think about Aang facing Ozai—the mere image made her heart clench. "So what _were_ you thinking about, Sparky?" she asked instead.

He sighed again, almost visibly shrinking into himself. "Well—the end of the play."

"Okay…"

"The part where I fight Azula," he admitted.

"Oh. You mean the part where…" she trailed off.

"Where I die, yeah."

"That's not going to happen, either," Katara said firmly. "Besides, the play completely forgot about me, Toph, and Sokka. And what about _my_ dad, huh? We'll all fight, and we're all going to make it out of this."

Even as she said it, she wasn't sure whether it was a wish or a promise.

Zuko's mouth quirked. "It's not always bad to be underestimated."

"I guess it's good enough that I'll get to be a part of the action in real life."

"The thing is, though," he said haltingly, "let's say my father and Azula die."

"Oh, so we're talking best-case scenario now," she quipped.

He actually smiled at that. "If that happens, then either my uncle or I could take the throne," he explained.

"That makes sense," Katara said.

"But…Katara, when I died, the crowd _cheered._ They were clapping—they were happy."

She felt something heavy land in the pit of her stomach. "Zuko, they were just…people watching the play."

"They were _my_ people watching the play," he corrected. "I knew this would happen when I turned traitor, but it never occurred to me that I'd have to worry about them hating me. My family saw me that way anyway—I didn't think it'd be that much of a problem."

"It's not that personal, right? They were the same when Aang died," she pointed out feebly.

"Exactly. The person I betrayed the country to teach," he pointed out. "Assuming I survive this—"

"You _will_," she all but growled, slightly surprised at her own ferocity.

"And my father and Azula both become out of the picture—"

"Which they will," she declared.

"And my uncle, for some crazy reason, doesn't want to be Fire Lord—"

"Gee, I wonder why," Katara said, miming pondering.

He stopped and gave her a look. "I can't become the ruler of a country that hates me."

"Maybe they don't all hate you."

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Maybe there are secret sympathizers within the Fire Nation who I won over with my charm. I wonder why I never thought of that."

"Hey! You never know," she replied, irritated at his belittling.

"And you say you don't always go on about hope," he muttered.

"You _are_ uptight and humorless," she retorted.

They sat in silence. Zuko stared into the fire while Katara alternately glared at him and the portrait. She wondered if all Fire Nation were so bleak—aw, she really was advocating hope, wasn't she?—and if that was why they'd allowed themselves to be ruled by the likes of Ozai. Or maybe they really were enamored with him. In which case, she sort of doubted that she or anyone currently in the house would be welcome back in the Fire Nation in their lifetimes. She supposed that it wouldn't be that much of a loss to anyone…right, except for him, she reminded herself, glancing sideways at Zuko. She tried to imagine what that would be like, then sighed.

"At least I don't cry that much," she said, returning to the subject of the play.

"That would be kind of scary," Zuko replied. "I never know how to handle girls and tears," he admitted, grimacing.

"Probably not," Katara agreed. "I'm kind of shocked you're not afraid of girls, growing up with Azula."

"And Ty Lee and Mai."

She raised her eyebrows. _My point exactly._

He rolled his eyes again. "They're not that bad."

"Fair enough," she replied, not actually convinced. "Anyway, quit worrying about the play. It was horrible and everyone hated how they were written and cast."

"Except for Toph," he said quickly.

Katara grinned. "Yeah, except for her. She was ecstatic."

"The girl who played Aang actually told me that my scar was on the wrong side," Zuko said, laughing a little. "During the intermission."

That made Katara crack up. "You mean it isn't?" she asked innocently.

He dropped his head into his hands and groaned as she cackled.

* * *

Hey you guys! I live! Yep, I got bitten by the Avatar bug. Just a quick note, **I have not yet seen the finale**; I'm catching up on the whole rest of it first. I have, however, seen from "The Western Air Temple" through to "The Ember Island Players," which this fic is of course a coda to. I'm also maybe three-quarters of the way through Book One, so yay! This is my first Avatar fic, so hopefully I got everyone IC. Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed the fic!


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